Last week, THON, along with Penn State officials, made the decision to cancel all fundraising efforts that require traveling out of State College for the remainder of the THON 2019 fundraising window. This decision was made after careful consideration and due to 3 separate car accidents involving volunteers which occurred on fundraising trips earlier this year.

While we recognize that this will affect student fundraising efforts, student safety is of the utmost importance.

Your feedback is welcomed on this, and any other,decision affecting the THON community (email alumni.engagement@thon.org with your thoughts), but we ask you to join us in supporting the THON volunteers in their fundraising efforts, and the student leadership in making this difficult decision

This decision makes alumni support more vital than ever.

Dance Marathon Alumni Interest Group leads a passionate community of alumni who create and promote opportunities to raise awareness, volunteer time, and provide philanthropic support to champion the efforts of THON.

There are various ways to support this mission, and our hope is that alumni will rally around our student volunteers to do so.

First, raise awareness. It's as simple as wearing a THON shirt or striking up a conversation with a co-worker. Use your social media channels to share messages of courage, wisdom, honesty and strength. Use your voice to garner excitement for the best weekend of the year.

Second, volunteer time. Start a fundraiser in your town. Happy hours, local sporting events and raffles are the easiest ways to kick things off. Please reach out to DMAIG (president@dmaig.org) for tips and tricks to get this done, and register your event with THON for easy access to their logos, messaging and more.

Finally, provide support to champion the efforts of THON. Our student volunteers invest so much time and effort every single year to put on this amazing, incredible, inspiring event. When it comes to fundraising, they'll need our help now more than ever. We encourage you to join our Hope From Coast to Coast virtual run fundraiser -- but there are plenty of other ways to get the job done. Here’s just a few ways …

-Donate online at THON.org OR join THON Nation, a new fundraising platform that enables alumni, friends and supporters to create a DonorDrive fundraising page-Become a DMAIG Ambassador (see information below)-Use our Amazon Smiles account when you get your holiday shopping done-Find an event with your local PSAA chapter and find a tie-in to raise funds.-Participate in the THON Stamp Drive, and send stamps to the THON Office (227D HUB, University Park, PA 16802) – this helps to fund various initiatives while cutting down on internal costs

Need more ideas? Feel free to reach out to us at alumni.events@dmaig.org. There are so many different ways to encourage fundraising, and we hope you'll join us in doing so. Stay updated on these initiatives and more by checking out the DMAIG and THON social media channels.

We’re continuously inspired by our alumni volunteers, and we thank you for your continued support of DMAIG and THON.

FTK,The DMAIG Board of Director

Become a DMAIG AmbassadorNEW for THON 2019, the DMAIG Ambassador program empowers THON alumni to build bridges in their communities, fostering a strong alumni network and creating opportunities to grow support for THON across the nation. With the help of resources from DMAIG and THON, Ambassadors play a leadership role in engaging local alumni to join the fight against childhood cancer through planning fundraising events, interacting with local alumni chapters, and other outreach activities. Interested in becoming a DMAIG Ambassador for THON 2019? Visit www.dmaig.org or email Megan Osvath at donor.relations@dmaig.org to learn more!

Join Hope From Coast to CoastJoin alumni from around the world and participate in the third annual Hope from Coast 2 Coast Virtual fun! The event takes place the week leading up to THON (Feb 10-17, 2019). Our mission is to bridge the game between THON Weekend and alumni around the world to raise awareness and funds supporting THON in the fight to conquer childhood cancer. Click here for more info and register today!